How We Helped San Francisco Opera Boost Subscription Sales With First-Party Data

Our Approach

As privacy changes keep rolling in, it’s never been more clear that first-party data is the future of digital marketing—but how do you harness that power in a digital marketing campaign?

When San Francisco Opera (SF Opera) was ready to announce its 2023–2024 season, we developed a multi-pronged strategy that used first-party data as its foundation to drive subscription acquisition and renewals.

Step One: Play up Excitement to Collect Leads

As one of the world’s preeminent opera companies for over 100 years, SF Opera is committed to telling bold stories and inspiring a new generation of opera-goers. They announced their 2023–2024 season with an array of repertoire-expanding premieres and highly-anticipated works, including Il Trovatore, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, and The Magic Flute.

With such an exciting lineup, the Opera had a golden opportunity to launch subscription sales with a bang. As their strategic partner since 2020, we understood the most cost-effective ways to grow their subscriber base and helped them craft a digital strategy rooted in first-party data for maximum and cost-efficient impact.

Before the new season was revealed, we ran a lead generation campaign on Meta to tease the announcement and collect email addresses. We served these lead-generation ads to a few different audiences, including lookalikes of current email list subscribers and Meta users in the Bay Area who indicated opera-related interests. In exchange for their emails, users were promised first dibs at a deal for new subscribers.

By inviting people to opt-in for season announcement alerts, we amassed a list of highly interested—and thus high-quality—prospects for future subscription campaigns. In just one week, we generated 447 new leads for SF Opera at a low average cost of just $1.45 per lead.

Step Two: Target Audiences Efficiently and Effectively

After the season announcement, we ran a second campaign to drive subscriptions. In addition to targeting various audiences, like engagers and people with opera-related interests, we also took advantage of first-party data to speak to those within SF Opera’s network.

Using first-party data allowed us to target prospective subscribers in cost-effective ways. Rather than simply cast a wide net, we spoke to people who had already engaged with SF Opera and were most likely to buy.